 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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JimboS, Did you manage to book the 20% discounted online liftpasses I mentioned before you went to Wengen? I believe you said you were staying in the Falken - how did you like it? It has a certain old world charm which some people like and others don't. Was there a pianist in residence - when I was in Wengen over the New Year I heard from someone at the DHO that the previous great jazz pianist Al Copley who used to play there has been lured away by a better offer to another Swiss resort. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| JimboS, Did you manage to book the 20% discounted online liftpasses I mentioned before you went to Wengen? I believe you said you were staying in the Falken - how did you like it? It has a certain old world charm which some people like and others don't. Was there a pianist in residence - when I was in Wengen over the New Year I heard from someone at the DHO that the previous great jazz pianist Al Copley who used to play there has been lured away by a better offer to another Swiss resort. |
I think he got lured away from Wengen by a hotelier in Mürren but I think Al Copley went elsewhere within a couple of weeks due to altitude sickness ?
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Chris Brookes, According to Al Copley's website he is spending the winter season at le Grand Bellevue Hotel, Gstaad.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I booked our lift passes through the discount web site, paid £198 for 7 days, Inghams wanted £268 for 6 days!
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suzysue2, its a great genuine deal
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Gstaad is really not as great as its piste map might indicate, it's a series of little villages each of which have a few lifts, but the vast majority don't let you go between villages, you can between Gstaad and Rougemont and I think Zweisimmen and Schonried but elsewhere you need to take the train from one resort to the next along the valley floor or in some cases a bus, you cannot go for instance to Schonried go up one of the mountains and ski back to Gstaad you have to go back and take the train home, that said the vast majority of the resorts are very pretty and there a lot of very wealthy people there.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| JimboS, Did you manage to book the 20% discounted online liftpasses I mentioned before you went to Wengen? I believe you said you were staying in the Falken - how did you like it? It has a certain old world charm which some people like and others don't. Was there a pianist in residence - when I was in Wengen over the New Year I heard from someone at the DHO that the previous great jazz pianist Al Copley who used to play there has been lured away by a better offer to another Swiss resort. |
Yes we bought the tickets in advance and got the 20% discount, thanks for the tip.
We stayed at the Falken and were very pleased with it and its old world charm, we had an excellent south facing room with a large bath/shower room. The staff were great, as was the new pianist. For the price I was also very happy with the food and there were also good options for my vegie wife.
The skiing/boarding was great, the quantity of easy access, safe OP was also amazing, although it was all tracked out by the end of Monday, but at least we did have a huge dump of snow on Saturday night after we arrived.
We did most of our skiing in the local area but also had a day over in Grindelwald and one in Muren, although we enjoyed both days it was a bit of a trek to get there and back.
Some other impressions, observations, in no particular order.
The local ski area was better than expected and we had zero lift queues.
The village/village centre was smaller than I expected.
There fact that we did not see or hear any drunks was great.
No matter where we went there seemed to be at least one upper middle class woman talking too loudly.
The food and drink on the mountain was pricy and I felt some of the service the service was poor compared to my favoured Austrian resorts. On occasion we were served drinks in plastic cups and soup in plastic bowls, I have never seen this before. The food quality and quantity was good but as for hot chocolate, I was surprised to be handed an cup of hot milk and a packet of chocolate powder, for that price I expect some one to make it for me (this was in the Bond restaurant!).
The little outdoor/tented bar at the bottom of the beginner area was good, it was great to finish there with a Glühwein and watch the skiers come in off the hill. I think they could make this a bit bigger and if they had a space for dancing I would have been up there.
We tried a few bars in the village but found that Rocks was our favourite.
All in all I am sure we will be back.
The route below was what we did on our last day, 42Km distance and 7000m vertical drop!
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Jimbo, what did you use to get that graph?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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JimboS, not sure what it is with the hot chocolate, but for as long as I can remember it's always been hot milk plus the sachet, I think it's because you can choose different types one ovo and one chocolate, can't recal ever being given a plastic soup bowl have seen the plastic cups especially at some of the outside bars where non plastic easily gets broken, buried in snow and so on.
Unfortunately the exchange rate is going to make the mountain restaurant prices hurt in Switzerland, not the Swiss fault they have a strong currency, prices there hardly go up but the pound buys very few Franks these days
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Alastair pink, you are are a font of all knowledge. Excellent. I will check this out next week. You jungfrau experts have been great, thanks for all your local knowledge which will enhance my trip .
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You know it makes sense.
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Yes me too! How good to see what you've done over the week! Justify the cake & hot chocolate eh? We did something similar in Zel am Ziller a couple of years back but it just totted up the amount of kilometres!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hear is a tip for food on the mountain, just buy one meal between two as the portions are huge and the price is then reasonable.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Heres another one use the less used restaurants out of the sun, Jagerstubli just up from the Aspen Restaurant on the route down from the Mannlichen is much better than Aspen, Brandegg offers good food at a fair price and plenty of it but use the table service rather than self service section, the prices are almost the same but the portions are often larger, Wengeneralp Hotel is Expensive, as is Marys cafe (also known as witches house) at Innerwengen or at least it is since the Hotel Regina aquired it. Kleine Scheidegg Station Buffet is not bad nor last time I went the Restaurant at Eigergletscher.
Some restaurants will offer meals for more than one person ,such as a huge pot of spaghetti or a big bowl of soup to share
Restaurants with big sun terrasses and great views charge more, it's the same the world over. Station Buffets in Switzerland often (not always) offer for the Swiss good value for money, at current exchange rates we probably term it more bearable.
If you really want to save money take an extra roll or two at breakfast and some cheese and ham if you have a buffet at your hotel, there is a picnic room downstairs at the top station of the GGM Gondola, door on outside of building facing Mannlichen Restaurant, its warm, dry and has a nice picture window, not so nice are the waiting rooms at most of the railway stations but I've never been chucked out of one for eating
Oh and it looks like snow is on the way to the area again probably 10cm on Tuesday and maybe some later in the week around Saturday (50/50)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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One of our favourite places to eat is Alpiglen. You have to get off the train though and it's about a 100m walk on the flat. We always have the meal that's bread soaked in wine (sounds disgusted but it's not) it's then covered in cheese & veg & grilled. It might be called Kaseschnitte??? Very filling and sharable.
We were disappointed, however, a couple of years ago to find the restaurant had been "modernised" we prefered it olde worlde.
D G ORF, is the Jagerstubli the open air bar right facing the Eiger? The one with the portaloos???. Best view, worst toilets ha ha
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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sherlockis, nice one thanks mate 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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suzysue2, if you follow the Red Piste no.3 Down the Mannlichen to just before the point where it meets Red No.21 from the bottom of the Tschuggen Drag lift you will find the Jagerstubli, it's a little single story building by the side of the road with usually a few tables outside, it's maybe a couple of hundred meters up the road from the Aspen Restaurant which is where the two pistes actually meet, if you come down the Red 21 there is usually a little signboard pointing to the left that takes you down an incredibly narrow cut through maybe 3ft wide and on to the Jagerstubli (assuming it hasn't closed). Assuming it is still there the food has always been good and portions generous.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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D G Orf, still there, and your description is good. I think that the open air / portaloo bar that suzysue2, is describing is the one on the Arven piste where the run turns right just before the lifts. She's right about the loos!
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Thanks Telford-mike, that's exactly right! 2 years ago I had to use before we went off to meet friends at Brandegg, when we arrived there we realised that hubby had left backpack on the table! So we had to go back up on train, ski down to lift then back up chair (arven or honegg.) then collect the bag that was still there! Unfortunately by the time we got back we both needed to use the bloody awful portal loo once more!
D G ORf, I will seek the restaurant out you mentioned, always looking for something different to try! Thinking of having a go on the zip wire at First, any of you had a go?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Blimey, I didn't realise it was that far off the ground!!! Might have a re think on that one ha ha
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Kim was up for it but I wasn't, especially after lunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Its snowing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Chris Brookes, of course it is though not much in Wengen yet, I think there should be more tomorrow, the midnight hours often seem to cause a drop off in snowfall hat resumes around dawn
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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About 20cm in town. I'm going up to dick about in the trees.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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NE1, For Murren from Wengen, as you say take train down to Lauterbrunnen, cross road and take the cable car (not a gondola) up to Grutschalp. From there a train will meet you - you can either stay on all the way to Murren or (my recommendation) get out at the first stop (Winteregg) where there is a chairlift that takes you straight into the Murren ski area. Coming back you can either go back to Grutschalp and take the cable car down to Lauterbrunnen, or an alternative if you are in Murren is to take the 2 stage cable car to Stechelberg in the valley from where a ski bus takes you back to Lauterbrunnen.
For Grindelwald the skiing on the other side of the valley is at First - there are frequent bus services that runs from the bus station in Grindelwald. When you ski down from the Wengen side to Grindelwald you arrive in a region called Grindelwald Grund - there are bus services from there to the bus station or there is also a train link from Grindelwald Grund to Grindelwald main train station which is just about 200 yds from the bus station. Returning from Grindelwald to Wengen then as you say you could take the train up to Kleine Scheidegg, change trains (the same train never travels between Grindelwald and Wengen - they all terminate at KS from their respective valley sides) then train down to Wengen, or alternatively from Grindelwald you can travel to Lauterbrunnen (change at Zweilutschinen) then train back up to Wengen.
And yes, pocket sized timetables are readily available at the stations! 
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Tue 14-01-14 11:45; edited 1 time in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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NE1, third alternative from Murren if conditions are good, ski down to Lauterbrunnen
Trains have to be changed at Kleine Schidegg because of opperating rules, the engine (motor) must always be on the downhill side, so if a train goes up from Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg it cannot then go down the other side, in actual fact it is possible to take the same train all the way, because burried in the mountainside under the Lauberhorn is a reversing Y which lets them do this, but as a matter of practicallity it's a lot easier and less bother to simply change trains.
Timetables available in all stations and cable car terminals, probably the gondolas as well, you can get a fold out detailed one on paper but there is usually a waterproof mini timetable that you can put with your ski pass, all for free of course.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Isn't Wengen civilised 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| NE1 wrote: |
| Isn't Wengen civilised |
I thought so until I came across the "gentleman only" club, Kim steered me clear!
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| D G Orf wrote: |
| Chris Brookes, of course it is though not much in Wengen yet, I think there should be more tomorrow, the midnight hours often seem to cause a drop off in snowfall hat resumes around dawn |
There's been enough to cancel the training run today, forecast looks interesting for the weekend. Looks like they will be out all Friday night working on the freshly fallen snow ready for the downhill on Saturday.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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suzysue2, The First zip wire thing is a giggle. It IS high. But you're well strapped in. It's also not really that fast to be honest.
Certainly, it looks a lot more wild than it is. Though I guess it's all relative!
Being on the ski pass, if the queues aren't too bad, it's rude not to have a go really! The queue's do take quite a while, although they might not look very long, they have to haul all the harnesses all the way back up after each run so it's easy to lose an hour waiting...
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Oooh I might still have a go then! I'm not so good at queuing so if there's not much of one I might join! I am a bit of a dare devil. Is there a weight limit for it? One of the guys with our group is a big 'un!
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FAQ
